1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device primarily designed for sweeping chimney flues, but which may also have uses in cleaning out other kinds of passageways such as drains.
2. Prior Art
The conventional chimney sweeping brush has radial bristles projecting from a central hub. Such bristles are not completely effective since the ends of the bristles do not contact the whole inside area of the flue. Another problem with conventional brushes is that often they cannot be pushed past an obstruction such as a damper in a flue. In such cases it becomes necessary to clean the chimney by working at its top end, which may be hazardous.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,129,091, and 2,148,754, both to Jacobson, describe special forms of flue cleaners in which, instead of bristles or wires, scraper blades of spring steel are used, each held in a central hub, the blades having a spiral arrangement so that the ends of the blades define a circle when viewed along the axis of the device. In each case, the flexibility of the blades would seem to be extremely limited, and in fact the construction of the device as a whole makes it clear that it is not intended to clean flues of widely differing diameters. Also, because of the length of the device, it is not suitable for cleaning flues which have much curvature.